Poker News

The final table of the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event was set Tuesday evening with some potential history on the horizon. Twenty-one-year-old Tyler Kenney has the chip lead going into Wednesday with just over three million, but all eyes will be on Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst and her attempt at winning the event for the second consecutive year.

Selbst bested 715 players to capture last year’s title at Mohegan Sun for $750,000. While this year’s field of 387 paled in comparison, it wouldn’t make the feat any less remarkable. She was on top of the poker world last year after winning at Mohegan Sun and the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in September for $1.8 million, bringing her total live earnings to more than $4 million.

Day 4 began with Selbst leading the remaining 24 players and she continued building her stack as soon as play began. The first victim was two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Eric Froelich, who made a move with a pair and an open-ender against Selbst’s bottom set on the turn and was unable to improve, as he hit the rail in 23rd place.

The huge pot pushed Selbst close to two million in chips, nearly double her next competitor. She chipped up to 2.5 million after eliminating Ara Melikian in 14th place and coasted the rest of the way to enter the final table with 2,249,000.

Kenney, meanwhile, caught fire towards the end of the day and took control of the chip lead after eliminating David Stefanski in 10th place. The brother of feared online grinder Bryn Kenney has made a name for himself in a short span of time on the live circuit, posting a total of $163,000 in earnings since first ever cash at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2010. His biggest live score came in a $5,000 event at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December, where he made a three-way deal at the final table for $90,000.

Like Selbst, Tehan is also making a run at his second NAPT title after winning the Main Event in Los Angeles in November. Tehan enters the Mohegan Sun final table fifth in chips with 1,238,000. He flew under the radar most of Tuesday, but has plenty of experience at high-pressure final tables. Tehan has a World Poker Tour title and an L.A. Poker Classic victory under his belt during his six-year career. His total earnings on the live circuit eclipse $3 million.

Vincent Rubianes, Dan Shak, Thomas Hoglund, Jr., Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer, and Day 2 chip leader Aaron Overton fill out the rest of the final table. Rubianes overcame a late miscue against Selbst on Day 3 to assemble a nice stack on Day 4. Shak, meanwhile, nursed a short stack for most of the tournament before going on a rush on Tuesday. His Day 4 victims included Jonathan Schroer and Nenad Medic.

Here’s a look at the seat draw for the eight-handed televised table of the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event:

Seat 1: Joe Tehan – 1,238,000
Seat 2: Thomas Hoglund, Jr. – 541,000
Seat 3: Dan Shak – 1,571,000
Seat 4: Vincent Rubianes – 1,711,000
Seat 5: Steve O’Dwyer – 1,032,000
Seat 6: Tyler Kenney – 3,021,000
Seat 7: Aaron Overton – 373,000
Seat 8: Vanessa Selbst – 2,249,000

Play resumes at Noon ET on Wednesday and we should have a champion at some point during the evening. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the final results from the Main Event as well as the NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout final table, which takes place on Thursday.

Among the players that reached the final nine in the Bounty Shootout were Team PokerStars Pros Eugene Katchalov and Jason Mercier, who won the event last year for $475,000.

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